Biography
Russell Flint
P.R.A., P.R.W.S., R.S.W., R.O.I., R.E.
Late in 1912, he and his wife went to Italy where they rented a studio in Rome. There he discovered a local model called Peppina from Anticoli Corrado in the Sabine Hills. This girl, with her rural charm and beauty, was such a perfect subject for William that he soon became enchanted by the freedom of the Sabine Hills and the peasant girls who lived there. Far removed from city culture, William was so inspired by the imagery and drama of their lives that even time spent in Florence and Venice could not surpass his discovery in rural Italy.
William was commissioned in the First World War and became Admiralty Assistant Overseer of Airships.
This took him back to his native Scotland, where in 1919 he painted a tiny watercolour called Hilda´s Bonnet on the linen of a fragment of HM Airship 24 which he had previously commanded.
Post World War I, William Russell Flint´s artistic career began to flourish. He decided to become a full time painter,
ceasing his work as an illustrator, and for a time the colourful fashions of his female models reflected the cultural changes taking place after the deprivation of the War.
Leaving London he travelled to France and Spain, until the Civil War, where he produced wonderful paintings reflecting the local scenery and culture.
He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1924, full member in 1933 and in 1936 became President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour.
After living on a turkey farm near Totnes, Devon during the Second World War, he and his wife moved back to London where the post war period became Russell Flint´s greatest.
His talent with both the watercolour medium and his skill in depicting the female formcreated a hallmark style which would later become legendary.
In 1947 William Russell Flint was knighted by King George VI alongside the actor, Laurence Olivier and the musician, Malcolm Sargent.
In 1962 his work was acknowledged by a retrospective exhibition in the Diploma Gallery of the Royal Academy, giving pleasure to more than 21,000 visitors.
At the time, Charles Wheeler, the President, paid tribute to the artist, describing his watercolour technique as a ´baffling skill´.
Sir William Russell Flint died in December 1969, aged 89. He left behind one of the finest and most sought after collections of watercolours in the World.
If it ceased to be fun I would stop painting".
Sir William Russell Flint. 1880-1969.
Sir William Russell Flint, began life in Edinburgh on the fourth of April Eighteen eighty.
His father Francis Wighton Flint, was a watercolourist and designer,
It helped William Russell Flint considerably that his family was involved in artistic careers. After studying at Daniel Stewarts School,
he went to the Royal Institution College of Artwork in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was in this environment that he was able to develop his
own unique style on paper
For six yrs. he trained as a draughtsman in an Edinburgh printers, this undoubtedly helped to give him the discipline that went towards his sucess
as one of the world's most outstanding watercolourists.
At the begining of the century Russell Flint took a job at the Illustrated London News where he would draw illustrations.
In this time before photographs, drawings and engravings were not only important sources of information, but great accuracy was needed to produce
realistic and true images for books and magazines.
The Illustrated London News had a worldwide readership, (unlike the present day, the British Commonwealth stretched across the globe) and the artist William
Russell Flint became a familiar name throughout the empire which led to his international recognition as a watercolourist.
Great classics... "Thomas a Kempis","The Song of Solomon", Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur", Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and Homer's "Odyssey"
were all illustrated by William Russell Flint
War broke out in 1914, during which Flint joined the Royal Navy Air Service and by 1918 he was promoted to Admiralty Assistant Overseer;
This allowed him to travel back to Scotland where he studied at the art School.
After the war, Russell Flint decided to visit Europe Europe, in particular France, where he painted and drew many landscapes of the quiet countryside villages
and their rural way of life, the publications of his limited edition prints illustrate much of his adventures in France.
Russell Flint became an Associate member of the Royal Academy in 1924 and nine years after, was elected a full member.
Russell Flint became the President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1936.
Throughout the early 1940s, Russell and his wife Flint lived on a turkey farm in Devon.
As a previous officer of the RAF, he was permitted to enter Devonport Dockyard,(a limited edition of this painting was released,
and described as a masterpiece of perspective) and paint, at will.
William Russell Flint and his wife Sybil returned to their home at Peel Cottage, Campden Hill, London in nineteen forty five,
and two years later Russell Flint knighted.
Sir William Russell Flint greatly enjoyed his work, and painted until his death at the age of 89 years old.
His painting as a professional artist changed from one decade to the next, and his style matured into a very fine portrayal of textures
that has never been surpassed.
Sir William Russell Flint's work has given and continues to give enormous pleasure to many admirers across the globe.
The signed limited edition prints and original paintings, have become very collectable, and his paintings have a great following
and are known as some of the finest watercolour paintings in the world today.
Visit the studio in Nottinghamshire with over 500 Limited edition prints and original paintings by Sir William Russell Flint
He was a much liked architectural, watercolour artist, who was most famous for his paintings of female nudes.In the art world,
Russell Flint was a revered by his colleagues. His father was an industrial artist and as a boy he joined a lithographic company where he spent six years
learning about the printing industry and the many different techniques used. Russell Flint was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in eighteen hundred and eighty,
his gift for painting was soon impressing both his fellow artists and the general public.
During his student days at the Edinburgh Royal Institution Faculty of Artwork, and after working for six years at the lithographic printing company,
he made the decision to live in London and work as an illustrator in the world of medicine, and then in 1903 he became an illustrator for the Illustrated
London News which , due to worldwide distribution, publicised his work across the globe.
In nineteen hundred and five he married an admiral's daughter, Sibylle Sueter in 1905 and his work continued to flourish so that two years later he was
able to become a freelance artist which gave him the opportunity to illustrate several classical special editions for example;
Mallory's 'Morte D'Arthur', Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' and Homer's 'Odyssey'.
During WW1 his job was the Admiralty assistant overseer of Airships . He returned to his birthplace of Scotland, and some years later painted a
watercolour titled ' Hilda's Bonnet' on a small piece of material from HM Airship 24 which he had been in charge.
After the Geat War, Russell Flint's creative profession started to bloom. He travelled in France and Spain, the place he painted beautiful pictures
showing the local landscapes and regional way of life.
In 1924 he was asked to join the Royal Academy as an associate member, and nine years laterhe was given the status of full member in 1933. Three years
later he became President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour. Leaving their home in Devon, where they had lived throughout the Great War,
Russell Flint and Syblle decided to return to Campden Hill, London, which proved a tremendous success for Russell Flint as the nation was begining to
recover from the years of war, and begining to enjoy the arts once more.
His expertise with the watercolour medium and his talent in painting nudes, created an unique manner of painting which became world famous.
Museums and Public Collections where the work of Sir William Russell Flint can be viewed:-
Her Majesty the Queen
Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen
The Admiralty, London
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport
Belfast Art Gallery, Belfast
Bentley Art Gallery, Maidstone
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham
British Museum, London
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Bury At Museum Bury
Cardiff Art Gallery, Cardiff
City Art Gallery, Bristol
Corporation Art Gallery, Oldham
Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Dundee Art Gallery, Dundee
Eton College, Windsor
Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-upon-Hull
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Harris Museum, Preston, Lancashire
Harrogate Art Gallery, Harrogate
Hereford Art Gallery, Hereford
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Merseyside
Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds
Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent
National Art Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Wales
Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, Paisley
Perth Art Gallery, Perth, Australia
Royal Academy of Arts, London
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Scottish Modern Arts Association, Edinburgh
Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL
Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton
Sydney Art Gallery, New South Wales
Touchstones Rochdale, Manchester
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, Worthing
William Russell Flint was made Sir William Russell Flint in nineteen forty seven, and fifteen years later his work was given supreme prominence by a
retrospective exhibition in the Diploma Gallery of the Royal Academy. During this period, Charles Wheeler, who was the President of the Royal Academy,
remarked that Russell Flint's art was an incredible feat and a 'baffling skill'.
In his later years, due to his artistic and financial success, Russell Flint was able to travel extensively across Europe, particularly in France
where he was a prolific painter, also enjoying some time painting in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and Scotland.
Portrait of Consuelita Carmona
Paintings sold from various sources
During one of Sir William's many visits to the Burgundy region of France he produced this painting, titled 'Vanity in the Guard Room'.
We have specialized in the paintings and prints by Sir William Russell Flint for over thirty years, and have on display over
500 edition prints, signed and unsigned; Also original watercolour paintings and red chalk drawings, for sale.
The limited edition prints, particularly the signed, limited edition prints (ie. pre 1969) were very sought after at the publication date,
and the entire edition could be sold out within several hours of release.
There is no 'second' edition of these prints, these are the original signed, limited editions that have over the years become highly collectable and
sought after works of art, some of which are over seventy years old.
Under the terrace Brantome
Farmyard, Argilliers
Under the terrace Brantome
August morning
Cecilia (red chalk)
Jesse and Jemima
Consuelita
St. Mark's, Venice
Eve and Yasmin
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Recognized worldwide as a master of watercolour painting, Sir William Russell Flint's work enjoys the prominence of some of the finest and most experienced paintings of our time.
Should you wish to explore the area in France that Sir William spent so much of his time; This holiday house in the Dordogne can provide
a beautiful experience for those who enjoy the countryside and wish to visit the many towns and villages of great character. La Chabroulie
sold, paintings
spanish street scene with donkey
urllist.txt, russellflint
Russell Flint, donkey, painting
original-painting-sunlitsquarelanguedoc, France
original gitanes
Russell Flint, ceciliainjune
painting, four studies
Russell Flint, Original, sandrine
original-rebeccaataigueze
Cecilia reading poems, original
Russell Flint, original-washerwomenbythedrome
Russell Flint, original-dragon
Russell Flint, original, painting, washerwomen, France
Russell Flint, france, gossip after market
Russell Flint, original lady
Russell Flint, limited edition, prints
You may be interested to view two of our websites featuring the work of highly regarded wildlife artist, David Shepherd
and the signed prints and drawings of Britain's most sought after artworks by L.S. Lowry here.
01623 799 309
Russell Flint main page
